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James Fitzjames
James Fitzjames was the captain on HMS Erebus and third in command (Later second in command) of the Franklin expedition. Early Life James Fitzjames was born on the 27th of July 1813 in Rio De Janeiro. He was the illegitimate son of Sir James Gambier and an unknown mother (possibly a Portuguese exile in Brazil). Naval Career On August 25, 1825, when he was 12, Fitzjames joined the Royal Navy as a first class volunteer on the HMS Pyramus. During this time, the Pyramus served under the flag of Sir Thomas Hardy, and conducted many conveys to Lisbon, Gibraltar, and Malta. On September 30, 1828, Fitzjames left the Pyramus. In December 1830, Fitzjames secured a position on the HMS St Vincent. During this time, Fitzjames on the St. Vincent witnessed the Greek War of Independence, and the occupation of Palamidi fortress in Nafplio by British, French and Russian forces. For a brief period between August 1832 and July 1833, Fitzjames served on the HMS Madagascar. During this time, the Madagascar escorted the new King of Greece, King Otto from Bavaria to Greece. He returned to the St. Vincent after this had been completed. Fitzjames passed his officer's examination on November 16, 1833. In June, 1834, Fitzjames became an officer on the HMS Winchester. From October 1834 to March 1837, Fitzjames served as a mate on the HMS Euphrates during Col. Francis Chesney's Euphrates expedition. During this time, Fitzjames broke his leg, and was to taken prisoner by local Bedouin Arabs, but was released after 10 days. For his efforts, on January 19, 1838, Fitzjames was promoted to Lieutenant on HMS Excellent. On October 17, 1838, Fitzjames was transferred to the HMS Ganges. ''Throughout 1840, Fitzjames on the ''Ganges ''took part in the Egyptian-Ottoman War. On one occasion, Fitzjames led an amphibious landing at night in the city of Beirut to deliver proclamations of Sir Charles Napier to the Egyptian soldiers. His exploits were so well known that the Egyptian general, Ibrahim Pasha, placed a bounty on Fitzjames' head. After briefly serving a stint on the ''Excellent, on May 27, 1841, Admiral Sir William Parker personally selected Fitzjames as an officer on his ship, the HMS Cornwallis for service in the Opium War. Opium War During the war, Fitzjames led the fire rocket brigades on Chinese forts at Tzeki, Segoan on the 15th, and 16th of March 1842, leading the rocket brigades to capture Zhapu in May, and serving on shore during the Battle of Zhapu in June. On July 21, 1842, Fitzjames was leading the rocket brigades again, this time during the battle of Zhenjiang. During this time, Fitzjames was shot by a Chinese sniper and was wounded by a musket ball that went through his arm and into his back, before stopping close to his spine. He was then evacuated to the Cornwallis, where he likely had the musket ball removed by the Surgeon, Stephen Stanley. While recovering from his wounds, Fitzjames was present at the signing of the Treaty of Nanking on board the Cornwallis on August 29, 1842. Not long after the war's end, Fitzjames, under the pen name, "Tom Bowline", published a 10,000 word poem entitled, "The Cruise of HMS Cornwallis". Later Naval Career On December 21, 1842, Fitzjames received a promotion to Commander, and on the 30, was transferred to the HMS Cilo. During this time, he visited the cities of Basra, Iraq, and Khorrambad, Iran. The reason he was sent to these regions was to help quell the rebellions of sailors of merchant ships. Fitzjames returned to England on October 10, 1844. Franklin Expedition On March 4, 1845, Fitzjames signed on to the Franklin expedition as captain of ''HMS Erebus'', and third-in-command of the expedition. When the expedition stopped in Greenland to send back letters and unneeded items, Fitzjames sent back several entries of his diary where he talked about the events that had happened recently. During the expedition's stay on Beechey Island, Fitzjames made a series of mathematical calculations on some paper that was recovered by the search expeditions. Later, Fitzjames was responsible for writing the details on the Victory and Gore point notes. He also published the famous addendum to the Victory Point note. (Curiously, Fitzjames states that the expedition stayed at Beechey from 1846-1847 rather than 1845-1846. Some have pointed out that this is a possible sign of lead poisoning.) What happened to him after April 1848, is currently unknown. Artifact Discovery One item that John Rae was given by the Repulse Bay Inuit was a fork that belonged to Fitzjames. Gallery JamesFitzjamesAlternateDaguerreotype.jpg|A slightly different Daguerreotype of Fitzjames FitzjamesAndFranklinFork.jpg|One of Fitzjames' forks (Top) along with one of Sir John's (Bottom) Category:People Category:HMS Erebus Category:Officers